Brian Head Goes First, as Usual
Brian Head, in the south of the state, has the earliest target and the most history of missing it. It aimed for 7 November last year and did not open until 25 November, held up by a warm autumn. Its 6 November date is in line with its recent habit of setting an optimistic date and seeing what the weather does.
An October opening anywhere in Utah looks unlikely. The bulk of the moisture from this year's El Niño is not expected to arrive until January.
The Wasatch Settles on Late November
Park City Mountain, Alta and Solitude are all targeting Friday 20 November. Snowbird and Snowbasin follow a week later on Friday 27 November, the day after US Thanksgiving. Alta, Solitude, Snowbird, Snowbasin and Deer Valley all sit on the Ikon Pass list of announced dates.
Deer Valley is aiming for Saturday 5 December, which fits its tradition of opening on the first weekend of December. The resort says it could open earlier if conditions allow, or later if the snow is short. It plans a phased start, with terrain around Snow Park and Silver Lake first, then more as conditions allow. The idea is to build a base that lasts into April.
Powder Mountain, the northern Utah resort, is targeting Friday 11 December.
Last Season Is Why Dates Come With an Asterisk
The 2025-26 start was slow. Park City Mountain pushed its opening back two weeks to 5 December, and Deer Valley opened to the public on 6 December after a delay of about a week. Both resorts then closed roughly three weeks earlier than usual after record warmth and one of the lowest snow years on record.
Last season was spoiled less by a lack of moisture than by temperatures too warm to make snow. That is the part worth watching this time around.
Eagle Point Will Not Open
Eagle Point, in Beaver County in the south of the state, announced on 3 August that it will not operate in 2026-27. The Cottonwood Fire, which began on 22 June, burned about 300 of the resort's 600 skiable acres (roughly 120 of 240 hectares). It destroyed Canyonside Lodge and the Tushar Ridge Warming Station and damaged four of the resort's five chairlifts. It also contributed to the loss of 145 homes and condominiums in the Eagle Point community.
Flooding and road damage made recovery harder, with access limited to an unpaved route from Junction. The resort says it intends to rebuild. A recent update said Monarch was the only lift to escape damage, that cleanup at Canyonside Lodge is finished, and that electrical repairs are complete. No reopening date has been announced.
The Super El Niño Caveat
Forecasters at OpenSnow expect a super El Niño to favour a big Utah winter, with January to March the best window and Park City tipped to do particularly well. NOAA has issued an El Niño advisory, giving an 81 per cent chance of El Niño through December and 97 per cent into spring.
There is a catch. Strong El Niños tend to bring warmer weather, and OpenSnow's Utah forecaster says that could hurt mid-elevation snowpack, the same problem that plagued last season. Models show most of the northern half of the US running warmer than average, while southern Utah around Brian Head looks on track for normal temperatures. The forecasters also note that last winter was exceptionally warm, so a repeat at that level is unlikely even if the above-average outlook holds. OpenSnow's Alan Smith expects below-average snowfall within Salt Lake City itself.
Still to Be Announced
Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Cherry Peak, Nordic Valley and Woodward Park City had no official dates on the Tribune's list. Some third-party sites show projections for a few of them, but those are not official, so treat them as placeholders. Sundance and Snowland have only a rough window so far.
